Salome, Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Centre, New York City

The Lincoln Centre is unsurpassed. What a lovely site.  The Metropolitan Opera is truly beautiful.  What a great venue. I loved the seating and chandeliers and acoustics.  The best was a little read out on the back of the chair showing you the words in English or German.
We loved Salome.  Richard Strauss’s score and Oscar Wilde’s drama. We’d just seen Reginaud’s Salome at the MET Museum.  It’s an incredible Biblical story.  So much of the message was carried through.  Patricia Racette played the lead role of Salome and her voice and acting was stupendous. I loved her dance. It was truly Oscar Wilde, top hat and tails, with layers lost, one tantalizing piece at a time.  I loved her whole performance.  I loved her voice, the range, the character.
Herodius was played by Nancy Herrera who really was great as well. Her drunken portrayal of Salome’s mother was perfect.  Greer Grimsley’s voice and performance was so powerful. He played John the Baptist. I loved his voice.  But  Gerhard Siegel who played Herod was my favourite after Salome. Kang Wang played Narraboth but he died too soon and I missed his suicide as Salome’s performance  overshadowed it. Which was rich and no doubt meant to.   Then there were the Rabbis and Christians. What a comic relief and so well choreographed. The orchestra conducted by Johannes Debus was perfect.  I loved the timing.   Costume and set were incredible.
The trouble with opera though is the macabre themes. The last opera we attended was about cannibalism and this one was about necrophilia. What’s with opera?